Despite established practice, he's weighed down by $3K monthly payments

October 30, 2011

Jason McDonald, 30, is an established dentist in Oak Park with a six-figure salary and regular patients.

The price tag for this impressive career: $275,000 in student loans, for which he makes monthly payments of $3,000.

McDonald graduated from the University of Iowa in 2004 debt-free, thanks to his parents, who paid for his undergraduate degree. But when the deadline to accept admission to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland came before he had heard back from the Illinois schools to which he had applied, he made the decision that will be with him for at least another decade.

"I would have loved to have gone somewhere in state, because it would have been cheaper, but I didn't have time on my side," McDonald said.

Having done the math, McDonald said, he is better off paying down his high-interest debt than trying to put money into a low-interest savings account. And the trip to New Zealand and sports car he dreams of will have to wait, he said.

"My best plan right now is just keep my eyes closed and just keep chipping away," he said.